I tried this... and my 7 year old came up with mario, luigi, and picachu. Looks like he may have to stick to naming his stuffed animals. I do run names by him occasionally and he has pretty strong opinions on some of them (I suggested Orion and immediately he said "why dont you just go with UrsaMinor" - my child definitely has a good sense of sarcasm).

My younger sister Mikayla and I are 3 years apart, and, I was asked to help decide on an M name for her. My suggestions were Matilda, Madeline, Madison, Mackenzie + Maya. My mum and dad were actually considering Madeline and Madison, and came very close to using both, until a friend decided to name their baby girl Madison. I think, giving your child guidelines for a name, such as a shortlist, or a first letter, is a good option, and allows the child to have input. (Whether you use their suggestions or not is your final decision, regardless)

If I had a child and were expecting, I'd give them a list of my 10 favourite first names, and ask which they liked best, or give them a letter or and ending that I liked/wanted, and let them suggest names that would fit. Whether you like your child's suggestions or not, it would make the child feel involved with the baby.

I am too into names to let one of my children choose for their sibling.... I do know families who have taken input and even had family votes when it came down to 2 names that that parents liked but couldnt decide.

Although, we did put the name Liesl on the short list when I was pregnant with Violet because Linus would say "BabyLiesl? BabyLiesl?" (he was a little over 2 at the time) because Liesl was how he said "Diesel" and he was *obsessed* with trains/Thomas trains and "Diesel 10" was his favorite character at the time!

When I was pregnant with Wolfgang, the kids were all old enough to "choose names" they liked when asked and understand. Bronwen *really* wanted Lola for a girl (not my style or DH's) and everyone else went back and forth depending on the day. I cant remember off the top of my head what anybody else liked (lack of sleep) but I know Bronwen was *really* into us using Lola if it was a sister.

Names of the baby should be easy and good to speak. My cousin name is Steve which is a simple and easy name to remember for anyone. I always like to choose English names with little meaning for my baby.